The most memorable plays during the Rutgers football team’s first two seasons in the Big Ten came from a unit its excelled in for the better part of a decade.Junior defensive end Kemoko Turay had seven and a half sacks in his first season on the Banks but his name wasn’t well known among the Scarlet Knights’ fanbase until after his iconic block of a Michigan field goal attempt gave the program its first Big Ten win.Senior wide receiver Janarion Grant has been slated as a focal point of the power spread offense first-year head coach Chris Ash and his staff are implementing but he is recognized for his explosive returns on kick-off and punt returns, of which he had a combined four touchdowns and 1,151 yards in 52 attempts last season.But the usual luck of the third time around betrayed the Knights in their season opener against Washington, as the unit got a taste of its own medicine in Seattle.The Huskies returned both a kick-off and a punt for a touchdown — the first time since 2001 they’ve done both in the same game — in their 48-13 shellacking of their visitors last Saturday."Those things just don't happen very often," Ash said in the weekly Big Ten coaches teleconference Tuesday.

The transition from a pro-style offense to a more modern power spread isn’t seamless and doesn’t happen overnight, or even over an eight-month long offseason.The Rutgers football team learned that lesson the hard way right off the bat in its season opener. Facing a top 25 team in No. 14 Washington that returned a majority of the top defense in the Pac-12 last season, the Scarlet Knights (0-1) were manhandled by the massive — both in size and experience — tackles on the Huskies defensive line, resulting in the 48-13 shellacking they suffered in Seattle.Junior quarterback Chris Laviano had two fumbles lost — though one didn’t count thanks to a defensive penalty — one interception and was sacked three times, resulting in a total of 38 yards lost.

Standing in the tunnel at Husky Stadium, the Rutgers football team prepared to rush onto the field as a group moments before the 2016 season kicked off.Head coach Chris Ash was in front of the pack ready to lead his Scarlet Knights onto the battleground for the first time, but he wasn’t the only one.Five true freshman saw action in the Knights season opener against No. 14 Washington last Saturday, experiencing the moment they and their teammates have been waiting for throughout the eight months of the offseason for the first time.“It was a big adrenaline rush,” said true freshman running back Trey Sneed of making his collegiate debut.

Chris Ash is no stranger to the environment at High Point Solutions Stadium on a Saturday in the fall.The traveled veteran has made the trip to Piscataway on two occasions during his 20-year career as an assistant, first with Arkansas in 2013 and then last season with Ohio State.He’ll take part in his third game in Piscataway this Saturday, but this time, he’ll be on the sideline with a block R on his chest and the crowd’s support behind him.The Scarlet Knights (0-1) host Howard (0-1) this Saturday at noon on the Big Ten Network as Ash makes his home debut.“I've said this many times, as a visiting coach, the experience that I had here at High Point Solutions Stadium has been a great one,” he said.

The scenes Saturday at Husky Stadium served as deja-vu to those on the Rutgers football team. The Scarlet Knights (0-1) found themselves on the wrong end of yet another blowout, facing a top 25 opponent in No. 14 Washington for their season opener.

SEATTLE, Wash. — Janarion Grant was always going to be a big part of what head coach Chris Ash and his staff were going to do on offense with the Rutgers football team.Whether it be receiving short passes on bubble screens or taking handoffs on jet sweeps, the senior wide receiver is projected to be the focal point of the Scarlet Knights’ power spread offense in Ash’s first year in charge.That being said, there were many raised eyebrows Saturday among the 58, 640 people in attendance at Husky Stadium, as well as the many watching back home in Piscataway, when Grant took a direct snap from fifth-year senior center Derrick Nelson and ran seven yards to gain a first down on the Knights first drive of the third quarter.Grant took five direct snaps in a wildcat-esque formation against No. 14 Washington on Saturday, the last of which was a 10-yarder finishing in the endzone, the only touchdown of the game in Rutgers’ 48-13 loss to the Huskies in both team's season opener.On a day where the Knights struggled to gather any momentum or rhythm with the ball in their possession through the air and on the ground, the expected culprit finally broke through.“Janarion in the wildcat, we were looking for a way to get an extra number in the box versus that defense, and I think that’s something we could consistently carry with him,” said offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer.

SEATTLE —— Chris Ash came to Piscataway with a vision of changing the Rutgers football team in just about every way he could.The first-year head coach modified the ambiance of the Hale Center, expanded the resources his team had available and even rearranged the seating arrangements on the team plane during away trips.Unfortunately for him, he also changed a tradition he surely liked to have kept intact.Ash became just the second head coach to lose on his debut with the Scarlet Knights since 1924, suffering a heavy 48-13 loss to No. 14 Washington.“Obviously that wasn’t the outcome that we wanted,” Ash said.

The wait is finally over.After eight months of a grueling offseason of growth and anticipation, the day everyone has been anxiously awaiting is finally here.It’s the first gameday of the Chris Ash era for the Rutgers football team.The Scarlet Knights take the field at Husky Stadium in Seattle Saturday hoping to upset a Top 25 opponent in No. 14 Washington.A tall task at quick glance — the win would easily crack anyone’s list of top five wins in program history — a closer inspection reveals that while all signs point towards a blowout win for the Huskies, there is potential for the Knights.They enter the 2016 season coming off a 4-8 season with a multitude of off-field issues that included both a head coach and an athletic director that were fired at the end of the campaign.But with the loss came Ash, a young, energetic defensive coordinator from Ohio State eager to fulfill his goal of becoming a head coach.He brought along a vision of bringing a modern no-huddle, spread offense to a team that’s been playing in the pro-style for most of the past couple of decades and a coaching staff that’s worked diligently to implement it.Completely rehauling the way a program operates is never easy and has raised questions of how well Rutgers will adapt, especially so right out of the gate against Washington.

The Rutgers football team continued its preparation for its season opener against No. 14 Washington Tuesday with the second practice of the week, which featured a special guest appearance — the 70,000 fans that will pack Husky Stadium on Saturday.Or at least the noise they’ll bring with them.The Scarlet Knights have added crowd noise to the ambiance of practice this week to create as close to a game atmosphere as they can, having included it in Monday’s practice as well.The artificial crowd noise in training sessions is common practice in football and while it isn’t an exact replica of the conditions the team will face, it surely is helpful.“It helps.

The Rutgers football team is stronger in every sense of the word — mentally, physically, psychologically — thanks largely to the work of strength and conditioning coach Kenny Parker and Director of Football Nutrition Alison Kreimeier.

Three weeks gone in training camp and just one to go before the Rutgers football team begins its season in Seattle against No. 14 Washington.Still, there are position battles that continue deep into the preseason.The most inexperienced group of the 10 on the team is one of the question marks remaining, though it’s not far from being resolved.

Rutgers head football coach Chris Ash was asked what he was looking for in his team captains during his press conference at the team’s media day on August 14.“I'm looking for new guys that will lead the team, guys that the others will look up to.

Head coach Chris Ash announced Monday that senior quarterback Chris Laviano would be starting behind center in the Rutgers football team’s season opener against No. 14 Washington on September 3.The first-year head coach cited the Glen Head, New York, native’s consistency as the main reason for the decision.“(Laviano's) been a guy who has shown the most consistency throughout the first two weeks of practice, has a good understanding of our offense, become a pretty good decision-maker with the ball ... and right now he has earned the trust of the staff and the other players,” Ash told reporters in a teleconference Monday announcing the decision.If quarterback play in the 19th practice of training camp is anything to go by, Ash made the most sensible decision.Taking all the snaps with the first team — consistency Ash cited as a reason for selecting a starter despite none of the quarterbacks completely separating themselves — Laviano looked sharp.He completed an unofficial seven passes in 10 attempts in 7-on-7 drills during the hour of practice open to media, throwing one interception after a pass was bobbled by true freshman receiver Dacoven Bailey.His passes varied in depth, throwing accurate passes 25 yards out as well as bubble screens to senior receiver Janarion Grant out of the backfield.The quarterback pecking order beyond Laviano was not specified by Ash in the teleconference, but it appears likely Zach Allen will remain as the backup.The TCU transfer took a majority of the snaps with the second team and despite some solid scrambling out of the pocket when it collapsed, did not show as much consistency as Laviano with his arm.Allen’s struggled early, completing one pass in seven attempts by an unofficial count.

Training camp has reached double-digit practices for the Rutgers football team as it completed sessions 12 and 13 Wednesday as it continues its preparation for the season opener against Washington on September 3.The Scarlet Knights began two-a-day practice sessions after the first week consisted of one morning practice and an afternoon lift.

The third day of Rutgers football training camp marked the first in which shoulder pads were allowed to be used after the first two practices were held to exclusively helmets.“Day three of training camp is down and put the shoulder pads on today, got a little banging in,” said head coach Chris Ash.

When Zach Allen committed to the Rutgers football team in June, he was expected to assert himself in the quarterback battle between juniors Chris Laviano and Hayden Rettig.Before a single ball was snapped, thrown or dropped during training camp, he found himself already in the thick of it.Allen was listed as a co-starter, along with Laviano, who started 11 of 12 games last season under former head coach Kyle Flood, in the first depth chart of the preseason.